Mollie O’Callaghan and Shayna Jack Return For A Dose Of Racing And Reality At Queensland Championships
Australian Olympic golden girls Mollie O’Callaghan and Shayna Jack will headline the starting line ups for next month’s 2024 Hancock Prospecting Queensland Championships, running from December 14-20 at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre – a return to racing and a surefire reality check.
The St Peters Western (SPW) pair, who were part of Australia’s all-conquering gold medal winning 4x100m freestyle relay, will be joined by another four of their Olympic club mates who have returned to the training pool.
With others, including Iona Anderson (Breakers, WA), Isaac Cooper (St Andrews),Elizabeth Dekkers (Chandler), Max Giuliani (Miami), Meg Harris (Rackley), Moesha Johnson (Griffith University), Lani Pallister (Griffith University), Alex Perkins (USC Spartans), Matt Temple (Marion, SA), Elijah Winnington (St Peters Western) and Josh Yong (UWA West Coast, WA) will be on World Short Course duties in Budapest (December 10-15).
GOLDEN PAIR: Mollie O’callaghan and Shayna Jack of Australia celebrate after winning the gold medal in the swimming 4x100m Freestyle Relay Women Final during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at La Defense Arena in Paris (France), July 27, 2024.
The summer season has again raised its head as the whirlwind post Paris parades, VIP invitations and Awards Nights start to wind up in the countdown to 2025 and a World Long Course Championship year in Singapore.
Just last night the cream of Australia’s triumphant swimmers were again front and centre on the red carpet for the Queensland Academy of Sport Awards -some like Ariarne Titmus and Kaylee McKeown who was named QAS Olympic Athlete of the Cycle, still on extended breaks.
But for others, like O’Callaghan and Jack it is a revolving clash of red carpet and reality – back to familiar grounds of their Lutheran College HQ in leafy Indooroopilly on the outskirts of Brisbane – and the call of “training in the morning.”
While putting their hands up for the SPW relays at the Queensland Championships, the pair will also feature in individual events.
Mollie O one of 16 of the St Peters crew swimming the 800m freestyle – so often a December call-to-arms reality check from coach Dean Boxall – also recognised with the QAS High Performance Program of the Cycle: United by Excellence award.
The 16-laps of an 800m free certainly not one of Mollie’s go-to races, especially for an Olympic champion over 200m and two-time world champion in the 100m.
The triple Paris gold medallist will also line up in one of her more favoured events, the 100m backstroke, which she dropped from her Olympic program.
While Jack has just one race – her specialist 50m freestyle and will be joined again by rising star brother Jamie, who will line up in the 50, 100 and 200m freestyle after his encouraging break through performances at this year’s World Cup Series.
Other Paris Olympians joining O’Callaghan and Jack will be Jaclyn Barclay (50, 100m free, 50, 100m, butterfly), Jamie Perkins (50,100, 200 and 400m free), Kai Taylor (50 and 100m free) and Jenna Forrester(200 and 400IM, 200m breaststroke).
While nine members of Australia’s successful Paris Paralympic swim team – led by 2024 gold medallists Benjamin Hance (St Andrews) and Callum Simpson (Flinders Phoenix) – will also be in race mode and honoured for their achievements.ñ2
PUMPED: Ben Hance 100bk Para Gold. Photo Courtesy Delly Carr (Swimming Australia)
Joining them will be the evergreen four-time Olympian Brenden Hall (USC Spartans) who won his seventh Games medal, bronze in the 400m freestyle for S9s alongside stalwarts Paige Leonhardt (Runaway Bay SC) and club mate Maddie McTernan; Lewis Bishop (Rackley Swim Team), Jack Ireland (University of Queensland), Jake Michel (Carina Leagues) and Holly Warn (St Hildas).
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